Armani/Manzoni 31
Via Manzoni 31
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 72318600

This mini-shopping centre, dedicated to all things Armani, is a monument to the Italian designer, who was born in Piacenza, just 20 minutes from Milan. Here you'll find everything from jeans to cushions to bunches of flowers - all with Armani's impeccably streamlined stamp. The three floors contain spaces dedicated to prêt-á-porter, Emporio Armani and Armani Jeans, Armani Casa, books, chocolates and flowers. Also here is the Armani Café and the popular Nobu bar and restaurant.

10 Corso Como
Corso Como 10
Milan 20154
Tel: +39 (02) 2900-2674
Described as “the best store in the free world”, this vast one-stop shop features an eclectic and pricey selection of everything from home furnishings to bags, all thoughtfully presented by Carla Sozzani and her artist partner Kris Ruhs. Clothes and accessories for men and women, as well as home design and beauty items, are on the ground floor (head upstairs for books and music). Afterwards, recover from your splurge in the attractive conservatory, which has a bar and restaurant. The shop also has a small B&B.

Biffi
Corso Genova 6
Milan 20123
Tel: +39 (02) 8311-60
Pick up a stylish scarf or fur hat at one of Milan's oldest and most trend-setting boutiques for men and women. The range mixes both classic and avant-garde, and includes new designers as well as established labels (such as Gucci, Fendi and Marni). There is a branch for younger, more fashion-conscious men just across the street (Corso Genova 5).

Borsalino
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele 92
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 8901-5436
Traditional Italian hats make covetable gifts. At Borsalino you will find a wide selection. This is where all those Milanese gentlemen buy their Alain Delon-like headgear, made from genuine hare-fur felt. There is a second branch at Via Verri (corner of Via Bigli) and a third at Via Senato (at the corner of Corso Venezia), which also sells a new line of clothes.

Il Salvagente
Via Fratelli Bronzetti 16
Milan 20129
Tel: +39 (02) 7611-0328
Open: Mon 3-7pm, Tues, Thurs, Fri 10am-12.30pm & 3-7pm, Wed & Sat, 10am-7pm.
You may find women screaming with glee over slashed-price Alberta Ferretti, Marni, Armani, Prada and others at this legendary shop. At sale time, prices are cut by a further 60%. Allow plenty of time, and shop wisely as returns are not accepted. The shop is a little hard to find: walk down a ramp as if going into a car park.

Suits, shirts and ties

Brioni Bespoke
Via Gesù 2a
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 763-18718
Fans of Brioni's suits (including Pierce Brosnan and Kofi Annan) will be thrilled to discover that the tailor has opened its only bespoke workshop outside Rome in the centre of Milan. Having a suit made here demands serious commitment. You will have to attend two or three fittings, while the tailor (who works on the premises) makes sure that every aspect, from the collar linings to the inside fastenings, cannot be improved. When you finally pick up your suit, only you will know about the special inner pocket, made to fit your glasses, or that tiny extra button-hole, so that your lapel carnation fits just so.

Etro Su Misura
Via Montenapoleone 5
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 763-94216
Known for their traditional tweed exteriors and shocking linings in pink, green or turquoise silk, Etro's suits have always been in demand with those who prefer to keep their subversive side close to their chests. Now, fans can fix an appointment for a discreet fitting in this made-to-measure atelier, which opened in May 2003. Dark, sombre wood has been used for the furniture and fittings, but the carpet is in bright fuchsia.

E. Marinella
Via Santa Maria alla Porta 5
Milan 20123
Tel: +39 (02) 864-67036
Until recently, fans of a legendary, made-to-measure tie-maker, E. Marinella, had to head to Naples. Now there's an outpost in Milan, tucked away in a 17th-century palazzo in the city's financial district. To those in the know, the company's silk neck-pieces (from €80), with tiny daisy or flower motifs, act like an old school tie. Select your own fabric, wait a three weeks for delivery - and join the club.

Angelo Fusco Cravatte Sette Pieghe
Via Montenapoleone 25
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 763-18933
Angelo Fusco opened his exclusive tie shop in a side-alley off Via Montenapoleone in 2000. The designs are as sharp as you'd expect from a practising plastic surgeon, who calls his dalliance with the rag trade “just a hobby”. Each neckpiece is folded seven times in jacquard silk, often woven with Mr Fusco's trademark chestnut motifs. It is then hand-stitched with a single seam, and delivered in a wax-sealed box. Prices start at €110.

Bags and Shoes
Good-looking bags and shoes are essential if you want to impress in Milan. Below is a selection of stores offering mostly hand-crafted goods that you won' find anywhere but here.

Aristolasia
Vicolo dei Lavandai 2a
Milan 20144
Tel: +39 (02) 894-20540
Fashion insiders swear by this young, Milanese label, whose best-known bags include multi-pleated hold-alls, and fold-over, bell-shaped handbags based on a carnivorous flower. They also make travel bags for men. Head to the company's showroom in one of Milan's most picturesque alleyways, and place your order for a made-to-measure design in vintage fabrics or soft leather. Delivery takes two weeks to a month.

Baldinini Boutique Uomo
Piazza Meda 3 (corner of Via Verri)
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 783-481
Take a look at this new shop for classic men's shoes and briefcases at affordable prices.

Francescatrezzi
Corso Garibaldi 44
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 869-15103
This new store offers classic handbags and shoes with matching accessories (leads, travel beds, dog coats) for your precious pooch. Only in Milan.

Henry Cuir
Via Arena 19
Milan 20123
Tel: +39 (02) 8324-1740
Milan's chicest signoras head to this orange-walled store for hand-crafted bags and shoes that are classic but never dull. Designer Henry Beguélin believes that comfort reigns supreme, and never uses heels over 8cm high (though most of the shoes are a good deal lower than that). His footwear is often crafted from vegetable-tanned leather and bees-waxed linen stitching thread, and finished with turquoise or amber beads. There is also a small men's collection. The shoes are hand-made in the shoe-producing town of Vigevano and the prices reflect the quality of the product.

Sergio Rossi
Via della Spiga 5
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02)763-90927
This is the only Sergio Rossi store in the world dedicated exclusively to men. Choose from the ample ready-to-wear selection, or flick though the leather samples available in the shop and have designs from the latest collection altered to suit. Special orders take one month to deliver and cost an extra 20%.

Stivaleria Savoia Ryding
Via Petrarca 7 /corner of Via Vincenzo Monti 44
Milan 20123
Tel: +39 (02) 463-424
This delightfully old-fashioned saddler and shoemaker started out in the 1920s as the official bootmaker for the Savoy regiment. Now, it's the shoemaker-of-choice for Milan's aristocrats, polo players and businessmen. In 2004, its long-time proprietor, Arturo Ballini, ceded ownership to Neapolitan tie-maker E. Marinella (see above), but the company has maintained the shop's quality and style. The interior has the same traditional look, and the bespoke shoes and boots (€1,500-2,000), are still crafted by artisans (delivery is within 40-50 days).

Favourite florists

Paolo Lattuada
Via Molino delle Armi 19
Milan 20123
Tel: +39 (02) 583-05078
Florists in antelope-skin aprons prepare single-colour arrangements, or exotic plants in aged terracotta pots, at this super-cool flower and gardening shop owned by Paolo Lattuada, a landscape gardener.

Radaelli
Via Manzoni 16
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 760-02876
The Milanese order classic arrangements and potted plants from this historic, very central store.

 Jewellery

Antonini
Via Manzoni 18
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 76000-016

This leather-panelled store is the world's only outlet for Antonini, the Milanese jeweller. This is a serious store with serious prices. The best pieces are simple, geometric pendants in white or yellow gold, sometimes splattered with diamonds. They also do a nice line in modern rings, with stones that range from sunny citrine to ice-coloured topaz. Many of the items are one-of-a-kind or limited edition pieces, made especially for the Milanese boutique.

R.P.Gioielli
Via Falcone 2
Milan 20123
Tel: +39 (02) 8664-07
A lamp inspired by a medieval shield swings from the ceiling of this striking little shop, with velvet-covered chairs and a red brick floor that would look equally at home in a 14th-century castle. But there is nothing retro about the jewellery, by Ruggero Paolillo, a designer who works from the showroom next door. Instead, expect bulky silver rings and necklaces studded with chunky stones, all with a streamlined, contemporary feel.

Design

Everyone knows that Milan is a capital of fashion. But the city is also the world's leading centre for furniture and product design, and is dotted with stores and showrooms of trend-setting producers, many of whom are based in the region.

Over the past couple of years, Via Durini has become known as Milan's “Design Street”. B&B Italia, Armani Casa, Cassina, Gervasoni and Meritalia all have their showrooms here, and are worth checking out for smaller goods as well as the kind of things you will need to get shipped home.

For a larger selection of objects that you can squeeze into a suitcase, you might like to track down these stores:

Alessi
Corso Matteotti 9
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 795-726

A pretty complete selection of household objects by the famously slick design company, whose production facilities are on Lake Orta.

Dadriade
Via Manzoni 30
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 7602-3098

Dive into Dadriade for furry coat-hangers, oddly shaped candle-holders and gleaming cutlery by Philippe Starck, et al.

High Tech
Piazza XXV Aprile 12
Milan 20124
Tel: +39 (02) 624-1101

Housed in the former ink factory for the Corriere della Sera, this rambling store stocks mid-priced household objects and furniture, much of which is manufactured to Italian designs in the developing world. A second store, Cargo, opened recently in the one-time Ovaltine production building at Via Meucci 39 (Tel: +39 02 272-21305), selling directly imported, ethnic household goods, many at reasonable prices.

Distinctive gifts

Etro
Via Verri/Via Bigli 2
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 7600-5450
The perfect gift for a woman. Body and home fragrances bottled in blown-glass, created specially for Etro. At the Via Spartaco 3 outlet (+39 02 5502-0218), you can find discounts of last season's products: fabrics, home collections and clothing (though not perfumes).

Frette
Via Montenapoleone 21
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 (02) 783950
This is the best of the Milan-based label's city stores. Pick up cashmere, silk and pure linen bed covers, silk cushions, towels and bathroom accessories